In the past, an approach of a multiplicity of tubes has been to tie the tubes together at points along the length of the launch tubes to form a cluster of the individual tubes. This approach causes each individual tube to have its own individual strength for longitudinal stress as well as radial stress. Further, in this type construction, the tubes are geneally made of metal which adds undesirable weight to the launch tube cluster. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need for a lightweight tube launching system that has a multiplicity of tubes of lightweight material that can withstand linear stress as well as radial stress and be clustered together in an accurate manner with each of the tubes aligned relative to each of the other tubes.
With the above needs in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide a system by which a compact, lightweight and economical launch tube arrangement is provided.
Another object of this invention is to provide a process by which a multiplicity of launch tubes can be accurately aligned and molded into a unitized structure to provide a lightweight and accurately aligned launch tube arrangement for small missiles.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a process by which a multiple launch tube arrangement can be made of all synthetic material.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a process which requires no specialized molding equipment outside of the mold.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a process by which the process is not limited to a specific tube configuration but a process that is flexible and can be expanded or contracted to accommodate the multiplicity of tube launchers desired for a specific configuration.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in this art.